What Really Matters
by Starchick
Summary: This is a Tai/Mimi/Matt triangle thing...just for a change of pace. Please R


Hey, I FINALLY got to write this! The Tai/Mimi/Matt triangle that I've been mentioning in my latest   
stories. Good thing too, I can tell people are ready to kill me for keeping them in suspense ^^* Well,  
this kind of different from my other stories, it may seem kinda sad. It takes place in Season 2 (I'm   
obssesed with 02 fics ^^;) It's got Michi, Mimato, I guess a LITTLE Taiora, maybe, no Sorato (sorry,   
I can't stand that pairing..*cringes* please don't kill me!)  
K, I also have a question to ask: how do I communicate with other authors and readers here? Sorry, I   
haven't been here long and don't know exactly how to work ff.net, so can you please tell me, cuz   
people've been really nice reviewing my stories, I wanna see if I can talk to them. So please tell me in   
a review, kk? Oh and, please review the story too ^_^* Alright, on with the fic.  
  
  
WHAT REALLY MATTERS  
  
  
  
The coach blew his whistle, signaling the end of practice, and told the team to come over. "That was a  
good practice," he said. "I think we're almost ready for the game on Saturday."  
Half of the soccer team cheered, and the coach signaled that they could get off the field now. Tai and   
the rest of the team headed into the boys' changeroom. When Tai came out, he walked over to his soc-  
cer bag, picked it up, and was about to leave when he saw a flash of pink. He turned to see Mimi walk   
by, and gave a little smile, feeling his pulse quicken. Mimi....there was no way to explain what she did to  
his heart. Next to Sora, she was his best girl friend, but that's all she thought of them as, just friends.   
The guys on the soccer team thought that he was just lucky to be such great friends with her, she was   
the girl every guy wanted to date. That kind of made Tai mad, lately he'd been wanting to be more than  
friends with Mimi. But in being her friend, he also knew all her secrets...including the fact that she had  
completely fallen for one of his best friends, Matt Ishida. It hurt, because he didn't want to tell her how  
he felt, it would only hurt her, and probably Matt too, since Tai suspected he liked Mimi as well.  
Now Tai snapped himself back to reality and waved Mimi over. "Hey Mimi, over here!" he shouted. Mimi  
glanced at him, then waved goodbye to a friend and hurried over. "Hi Tai," she said happily. "Did you  
just finish practice?"  
"Yeah," Tai confirmed, trying to keep his feelings bottled up. God, he loved everything about her, her  
voice, her personality, that smile, the laugh...Tai mentally told himself to cool it. Yes, he loved her, but  
he wasn't going to risk letting her find out and hurting his friends that way. It was hard though, because  
he'd never kept anything from Mimi, she knew him too well.   
"We're training really hard for the game coming up on Saturday," he continued.   
"Oh, I wouldn't worry," she told him with a little laugh. "It'll be an easy match, you've already creamed  
this team before."  
Tai shrugged. "Well, you can never be too good at soccer, even if you already are the best," he drawled.  
Mimi rolled her eyes. "You can never be too modest either," she remarked.   
Tai threw his bag over his shoulder. "Ok, let's go," he said, giving his teammates a little wave. Mimi  
glanced at them, most of them were watching her, though they were trying not to make it too obvious.  
She giggled and waved at them as well. "Bye you guys," she called, tagging after Tai. They both noticed  
the entire soccer team go red in the face. Mimi was laughing inside, while Tai on the other hand, was  
seething inside. He quickly told himself to forget about it.   
"How come you stayed after school?" he asked as they exited the building. Mimi tapped his head. "Cheer-  
leading practice, remember? I told you about it this afternoon. Did you just totally ignore me or some-  
thing?"  
"Sorry, I guess I just zoned out," Tai apologized. Mimi looked upward and exhaled sharply. "Boys," she  
muttered. "You can write a bestseller book on all the stupid things they do."  
"Hey!" exclaimed Tai indignantly. Mimi glanced at him. "Or maybe it's just Tai," she giggled. Tai pretend-  
ed to hit her over the head with his soccer bag. Funnny, it was moments like these when Tai noticed  
just how much he loved her. It had been a moment like this when he'd first realized it.   
But it can never happen, he thought sadly. She likes Matt, and I won't hold her back. I'll help her in  
whatever way I can, no matter how much it kills me. It did kill too, whenever he saw the way Mimi's  
face would light up when she was Matt, and knowing that she would never look at him the same way.  
  
  
Mimi glanced at Tai out of the corner of her eye, noting the fact that he wasn't being himself. Sure, to  
anyone else he would seem perfectly fine, but Mimi couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't   
right.  
"Tai, is something wrong?" she asked. Tai glanced at her, then quickly looked away. "Nothing Mimi, I'm  
fine," he told her, but Mimi wasn't convinced. She felt bad that Tai was keeping something from her, but  
then shrugged it off, telling herself that when he wanted to, he would tell her.  
They were supposed to be meeting the others at the place where Matt would be performing that evening.  
Mimi looked at her digivice. "Yikes, it's 5:30!" she exclaimed. "Come on, we've gotta meet the others in  
40 minutes." She grabbed Tai by the arm and raced all the way to the subway station.  
As they rode on the underground railway, Mimi kept chattering on about cheerleading practice, and   
pressing Tai for information on his soccer practice. But she still noticed that Tai was acting strange. He's  
too quiet, she realized. Of course he kept up the conversation and all, but usually he would be all hyper  
after finishing practice, telling her all about it. He wouldn't even let her talk about cheerleading practice  
without laughing about it and making fun of her, calling it "girls' stuff", and then she would teasingly call  
him a sexist pig. But today, he barely had anything to say about soccer, and he was actually listening  
while she talked about cheerleading. Something is definetly wrong, she thought.  
The 2 of them got off of the subway and walked a few blocks until they saw the other Digidestined, new  
and old, in the distance, and ran up to them.  
"Hey!" greeted Davis. "'Bout time. Where've you guys been?"  
Mimi was ready to scream as she clenched her fists and mentally counted to 10. "Wasn't ANYONE listen-  
ing to me when I said I had cheerleading practice earlier?" she demanded in annoyance. Tai grinned at  
her. "Actually, I don't remember hearing you say that," he teased. Joe nodded. "Neither do I," he added  
jokingly. "I guess we had more important things to pay attention to."  
Sora giggled as Mimi clenched her fists tighter and squeezed her eyes shut. Sora tapped her on the arm  
3 times, it was their personal signal to tell the other to calm down. "Guys, I would seriously stop, this  
isn't the best time to see Mount Tachikawa erupt," TK warned them. "Yeah," Kari agreed. "Besides, I  
don't wanna end up an only child."  
Mimi calmed down and turned to the others. "So where's Matt?" she wondered. Yolei pointed to the  
building. "He's in there," she informed her. "I think him and his band are getting set up."   
Mimi marched up to the doors. "Let's go see him," she suggested, beginning to pull the door open.  
"Ohhh, I see, she really wants to see Matt before anyone else does," said Izzy with a little grin to Davis,  
Cody and Yolei. Mimi spun around and glared at him, fire in her eyes. "I heard that," she snapped. "And  
that is NOT the reason, but it is the only way you'll keep me from being charged of 2 counts of murder."  
She looked pointedly at Tai and Joe, then whirled back around and breezed through the doors. The  
others looked at one another, then followed her in.  
Inside, Mimi looked around, noticing people setting up chairs and tables around a stage. She didn't see  
Matt anywhere. Then she saw him helping set up some band equipment. "Hi Matt," she called, running  
up with the others behind her. Matt turned and smiled. "Oh hey Mimi, hey everyone," he greeted. "How's  
it going?"  
"Well SOMEBODY just finished handing out death threats to Joe and Matt," said TK, looking at Mimi with  
a smirk. Mimi sighed. "TK, don't make me put you on my list too," she warned. Matt blinked. "Uhh...I   
don't think I should ask," he said. "Wise choice," Kari told him.  
"Well, the concert's gonna start in about 5 minutes, I'd better go get ready," said Matt, beginning to   
leave. "Yeah, we'll go get seats," said Tai, getting ready to leave as well, the others following him. Mimi  
lagged behind, turning around to Matt. "Break a leg!" she told him, giving him a thumbs up. "Not literally,  
of course," she added with a wink. Matt smiled and gave a little wave. "Thanks," he said, running back-  
stage as Mimi flounced off after the others.  
They sat down at a table in the middle, and just minutes later the lights dimmed and the spotlights shone  
on the stage as Matt's concert began. Mimi loved these concerts, the band was so good! Matt had such  
an amazing voice, and that combined with the music and the words he sang...it was as if he was in tune  
to her soul. She would always get so caught up in his songs.  
Halfway through the concert, she glanced at Tai. He noticed her eyes on him and gave her a peace sign.  
Mimi understood, he was apologizing for earlier. She shrugged and smiled back at him, and he smiled  
as well, a relieved smile as well as..something else, she couldn't place it. Which was strange, because  
usually she could almost tell what he was thinking, they were so close, ever since that time he'd rescued  
her from the Gekomon palace years ago. But now he was keeping something from her, and he'd never  
really done that before. Shrugging it off, she turned her attention back to the performance.  
  
Matt and his band left the stage as thousands of fans screamed happily and excitedly, practically disint-  
egrating the roof. Matt laughed along with his band as they went into the back room to dismantle their  
stuff.   
"Hey, that was a great performance," said Jerry. "Yeah, it was pretty cool, considering we canceled a  
practice last week," Matt commented. "Well anyway, we've got practice on Tuesday, okay everyone?"  
asked Tony. They all nodded as they left the room.   
"Brace yourselves," Matt muttered as the fans, all girls, began fawning over them. Matt lost the other  
members of the band, but before he could even think about that, Jun Motomiya cane hurtling towards  
him. "Hi Matt!" she squealed, nearly throwing herself at him as she latched onto his arm. Matt backed  
away from her. Not her again, he thought. The girl wouldn't leave him alone, she was obsessed with   
him and he thought she was stalking him now, especially when she'd met up with him on his street.  
Jun kept yakking about absolutely nothing, and Matt tuned her out as he searched the crowd for his   
friends.  
"So, Matt?" Jun's voice penetrated through his thoughts. He turned to her, trying to keep the annoyance   
out of his voice. "So what?" he demanded. "Do you want to or not?" she wanted to know. "Want to   
what?" he asked, a note of fear creeping into his voice.   
"I asked you if you want to come by my place tomorrow night so we can go to a movie," she told him.  
"Uh..." Matt stalled for time, trying to think of an excuse why he couldn't go. He wasn't about to go any-  
where with her. It wasn't that she was BAD exactly, it was just that she was...wierd. Way too much like  
Tai, and that thought scared him enough. (A/N: *Dodges flying tomatoes from Tai fans* Sheesh, why  
does it always seem like I'm making fun of Tai? I like him, seriously, I just had to add that for the story  
^^;;) And it wasn't as though he didn't have enough fans to deal with without her showing up every half  
hour.  
Then Matt noticed a flash of pink dotted with yellow stars. At the same time, she also saw him, and gave  
him a little smirk, eyebrow raised. Matt almost sighed in relief as he caught sight of the others.  
TK decided to give Matt a break and came to the rescue. "Hey Matt, can you come for a sec?" he asked,  
approaching Matt. "I need to ask you something important."  
Matt turned to Jun. "Well, I gotta go Jun, later," he told her as the 2 practically ran away. "Thanks TK, I  
owe you one," Matt told him gratefully as they got to the others. "I'll keep track," TK told him.  
Tai was already cracking up. "Man, you should've seen your face," he choked out as Matt glared at him.  
Then he sighed. "I can't get rid of her," he complained, turning to Davis. "Davis, can't you do something  
to stop her?"  
"I already tried that, remember?" Davis reminded. "Poor Matt," said Mimi, giggling along with Sora. Kari  
shook her head in sympathy. "You have to deal with it almost every hour, even Davis doesn't go that far,"  
she said. "Yeah," laughed Yolei. "Usually, it's every 2 hours." Davis glared at her.  
"But it was a great concert," Joe told him as Cody and Izzy nodded in agreement.  
"Yeah," Mimi seconded, looking around. "Wow, it's like being at an N'Sync concert. You were really   
great up there Matt."  
Matt blushed just the tiniest bit and looked down. "Uh, thanks," he murmured. Sora and Izzy glanced at  
him, then at each other, then pretended not to notice anything as Mimi giggled.  
  
Tai lay in bed that night, staring at the ceiling, completely lost in thought. He saw Matt's blushing face  
and Mimi giggling in his mind once again, and it ripped at his heart, just like it had that evening. He'd  
tried to cover up and pretend nothing was wrong, but he wasn't sure how well that had come off. He  
could tell Mimi was getting suspicious, she knew something was wrong.  
She wasn't the only one. Tai heard his bedroom door open, and he sat up in bed as Kari walked in. "Tai,  
what's wrong?" she asked in a hushed voice, their parents were asleep down the hall.  
"Kari, what are you doing in here?" Tai demanded. "Didn't you get over this stage already?" He was  
referring to the times when the 2 were much younger, and Kari would ask to sleep in his bed after she'd  
just had a nightmare.  
"A long time ago," Kari told him. "But I just came in here 'cause I can hear you tossing and turning from  
my room. So what's wrong?" Tai just glanced away and said nothing. Kari studied him, keeping quiet as  
well. "It's Mimi, isn't it?" she asked finally. Tai's head shot up as he stared at her in shock. "Wha..." he  
trailed off, wondering how his sister had found out.  
"It's something to do with Mimi, right?" Kari continued. "I've been noticing how you've been kind of act-  
ing strange around her, but I'm not sure why. What's the matter?" Tai just looked down and remained  
silent. Kari studied her brother's reaction, then with a shocking revelation, she realized what was wrong  
with him, the only thing it could be.  
"You like her, don't you?" she whispered. Tai just glanced away, as Kari quickly put 2 and 2 together. Tai  
was in love with Mimi, but he was all upset because...Mimi liked Matt. Kari turned to Tai, feeling very  
bad for him. So this is what love triangles do to you, she thought, thinking of her own situation with Davis  
and TK. She walked up to Tai and got onto his bed. "Tai, please talk to me," she pleaded. "I think I've  
figured everything out, but you'll feel a lot better if you tell someone."  
Tai looked at her. "Why bother?" he asked. "You already know what's going on." He sighed. "I just don't  
know what to do. I know Mimi likes Matt, and he likes her, but the problem is, so do I. But I can't tell her,  
it'll only make her feel awful and mess things up. But a part of me really wants her to know that I really  
like her."  
Kari stared at him. "Well Tai," she said. "I don't know what to tell you, except to use your best judge-  
ment, sorry."   
Tai shrugged. "Doesn't matter," he told her. "You were right, I do feel a little better now that I've told  
someone." Kari smiled and hugged him. "'Night," she whispered, heading back to her own room.  
As soon as she was gone, Tai turned to look out the window. Use my best judgement, he thought. Well,  
I guess I know what that means. No matter what, he had to make sure that Mimi was happy, and the  
only way to do that was to make sure she didn't know about his feelings. He had to keep acting normal.  
  
  
The next day, after Tai's game (which he'd won by the way), they all went to the movies for a while just  
to kill time and relax.  
When they came out of the cinema, Mimi still had chills running up and down her spine from the movie  
they'd watched, Lost Souls (A/N: Yeah, it might be a little old, but it's the only thing I can think of)  
"Somebody shoot me the next time I let Tai and Matt pick the movie," she muttered. Matt turned to her.  
"Oh come on," he said. "It wasn't that bad."  
"Yeah," added Tai. "And you've gotta get braver if you were scared of that."  
"Not everyone thought it was a total comedy act, Tai," Sora told him, gesturing to Yolei, Kari, and Cody,  
who were looking a little shaken as well.  
Joe glanced at his watch. "Listen, I've got to get home," he told them. "I promised my dad I wouldn't  
stay out too long since I still have to study." Sora nodded. "I'd better go too," she said. "I still gotta help  
out in the shop."  
"Well, let's all go," TK suggested. "We might meet up later." They all waved goodbye and parted ways,  
TK and Kari both going over to Kari's house, Davis, Yolei and Cody going off in another direction, along  
with Sora, Joe and Izzy, and Matt and Mimi went off in another direction. Tai just decided to take a walk  
through the park for a while, trying to get his thoughts in some kind of order. Since he had left long after  
Matt and Mimi, he didn't realize that he'd gone in the same direction as they did, they were taking a  
shortcut through the park. He only realized he was on their tail when he saw them up ahead through  
the trees. Feeling sad, Tai wanted to turn away, but for some reason, he also didn't want to leave. He  
stood their, watching the 2 of them through the trees.  
  
  
"Matt, how come you're going this way?" Mimi asked as the 2 of them cut through the park, not realizing  
that Tai was behind them. "It's a shortcut to my house," said Matt.   
"Oh, this is a shortcut to my house too," Mimi told him happily. "Will you walk me home?"   
Matt glanced at her. "Ok, sure," he shrugged. Normally, he would've thought she was acting a little wierd,  
but that was the way their relationship had gone lately, just flirting casually with each other. Sometimes  
Matt wondered if there was ever anything else behind all the flirting, and a part of him hoped so. Really  
hoped so.  
They walked on for a while, Mimi just kept talking about this and that, while Matt just nodded when he  
was supposed to and all, trying to sort out his thoughts. Wondering why he was getting this strange  
feeling for the girl beside him, the girl who he'd always considered one of his closest friends, kind of   
like a little sister. He'd never thought of her as anything else, but lately...it was just wierd. It was a feel-  
ing that wasn't in his control, and that's what scared him.  
Suddenly Mimi went mute and started casting glances at Matt, a faint glow in her cheeks. Matt was  
confused by her sudden silence. "Mimi, what's wrong?" he wanted to know. Mimi quickly looked down.  
"Oh, it's nothing," she murmured. Matt looked at her. That's wierd, he thought. For a second there, she  
almost sounded...SHY. He quickly dismissed the thought. Mimi, shy? Not in this lifetime, and definetly  
not around one of them.  
Mimi turned back to him. "Matt, I was just wondering," she said. "What do you think of me, as a person?"  
Matt stared at her, not knowing where she was comin from. "I don't know," he said, thinking. "You're  
nice, fun to be around.." Mimi seemed to brighten up a little. "You don't think I'm a major airhead and  
a spoiled brat?" she asked. Matt shrugged. "You're not as much of a ditz anymore, and last time I  
checked you weren't a brat, even though the last time I checked was about 6 months ago," he added  
with a smirk, laughing when Mimi smacked him on the shoulder. Then she fell back and was quiet again.  
Matt studied her, confused at her sudden mood swings and wondered if it was that time of month again.  
Then he shook away the thought. "Mimi, why're you acting all wierd all of a sudden?" he asked her. Mimi  
said nothing for a moment, then looked up at him again. "Matt, can I ask you something?" she asked.  
Matt shrugged. "You just did, but go ahead," he said.  
"What would you do if I told you that I like you, really like you...a lot?" she wanted to know, looking away  
and blushing. She seemed almost afraid of his answer. Matt felt trapped, not knowing what to say. He'd  
always thought that they were just really good friends, and had always assumed she thought of them  
that way too.  
"You mean, in the way all the fans at my concerts like me?" he asked carefully. She nodded slowly. "Yes,"  
she whispered. Matt could only stare at her. "Mimi.." he trailed off, speechless. Mimi looked back at  
him sadly, as if already knowing what he was going to say. "It's okay Matt," she said quietly. "I know you  
don't feel the same way."  
"Listen, Mimi," Matt said, trying to comfort her. "It's just..."  
Mimi backed away, tears building in her eyes. "Forget it, sorry to bother you like this," she told him, her  
voice shaking slightly. "I know you must get this everyday. Just forget it." Before Matt could stop her or  
say anything, she ran away, the tears falling freely as her heart twisted in pain.  
Matt stared after her, not sure of what to do now, whether he should go after her or just give her time  
to blow off some steam. Before he could even make a decision, he was roughly shoved against a tree,  
staring into Tai's furious brown eyes. "You've got 5 seconds to explain, Ishida," Tai told him in anger.   
Matt just looked back at him, shocked. He'd never seen Tai THIS mad before. "Tai, what's with you   
man?" Matt demanded, trying to free himself from Tai's grip. Tai glared at him but loosened his hold a   
little.  
"What do you think you're doing?" he shouted, furious. "In case you haven't noticed, Mimi really likes  
you, she's got the biggest crush in the world on you, but you go and hurt her this way! Don't you even  
care about what SHE'S feeling, or are you too worried about keeping your reputation intact?"  
Though Matt was still totally stunned and confused by Tai's reaction, those words really hit home, and  
something inside him just snapped. He pushed Tai away from him, hard.  
"Stop it Tai!" he yelled back. "Don't you think I know what she's feeling? And did you even wonder for  
a second if I felt the same way?" He saw Tai's expression go from rage to surprise and lowered his  
voice a little. "Truth is, I really like her a lot too but..." he paused and looked away. "I'm scared," he said  
quietly. Tai stared at him. "Huh?" he demanded. "Scared?? What for?"  
Matt kept his gaze away from Tai's curious eyes. "It's, well..I've never felt this way before about anyone,  
and it's kind of a feeling that she controls. I mean, I know she can really hurt me by just saying a few  
words, that's what's so scary. I don't want to get hurt, that's why I didn't want to give her the chance to  
do it." Tai looked at him a moment. "Matt, I know for a fact that Mimi would never ever want to hurt you,  
she totally loves you," he told him, his voice softened, but with still a trace of mild anger. "And what  
about her? You said that you didn't want to be hurt because of your feelings for her, but if she feels the  
same way about you, you just hurt her in the same way."   
He's right, Matt realized. I can't believe I didn't realize that. He looked down. "I never meant to do that,"  
he said softly. "I didn't want to let her hurt me, so I hurt her instead..." he broke off, feeling awful.  
Tai studied him. "Matt, all you have to do is tell her what you told me," he said quietly.   
Matt glanced up at him. "Tai, something's bugging me. Why'd you get so mad earlier when Mimi ran off?  
I know she was feeling bad and that you'd be pretty peeved, but that was way wierd, even for you."  
Now it was Tai's turn to look away, and as Matt studied him, he soon realized the same thing Kari had  
last night. He stared at him wide eyed.  
"Tai," he said, stunned. "You like her too, don't you?" Tai looked at him and nodded slowly.   
"I'm really sorry man," Matt whispered. Tai just shrugged. "Hey, don't worry 'bout it, it'll be fine. I'm  
not gonna get in your way, you 2 are practically destined to be together." Matt looked at him curiously.  
"Are you sure Tai? 'Cause the way things are now, you've got a better chance with Mimi than I do," he  
remarked. "Don't even think about it," Tai told him firmly. "Come on, I've got an idea."  
  
  
Tai headed out of the park with Matt behind him, and up to the nearest phone booth on the sidewalk. He  
pulled Matt in with him and picked up the phone.  
"Tai, what are you doing?" Matt demanded. Tai didn't reply, he dropped a coin into the pay phone and  
started dialing a number. Matt was just staring at him, wondering if he'd flipped out.  
The phone rang and rang for a while, then someone finally picked up. "Hello?" said Mimi in a small, shaky  
voice. "Hey Mimi, it's Tai," Tai said. "Oh hi Tai," Mimi greeted, her voice drained of all it's usual cheerful-  
ness. Tai became concerned. "Mimi, I saw what happened at the park today," he told her. "Are you  
okay?"  
Mimi sighed. "I didn't know you were there," she said. "Don't worry, I'll be alright." Her voice wasn't all  
that convincing, and Tai felt bad that she wouldn't tell the truth when usually they told each other almost  
everything, but he reminded himself that that wasn't the issue here. He felt a tug at his heart as he lis-  
tened to Mimi's now-quiet voice, but he tore himself away from the thoughts and glanced at Matt. He   
was looking uneasy, as if knowing what he had in mind. Tai grinned a little and turned his attention back   
to his task. "Listen Mimi, there's someone here who wants to talk to you," he said. He knew that she   
could tell what he was up to now, but before she could do or say anything, Tai shoved the phone into  
Matt's hands. "You're up," he whispered. Matt gave him a look, then put the phone to his ear. "Hey Mimi,"  
he said uncertainly. There was a pause, then Mimi spoke. "Hey Matt." Her voice was flat, but Matt could  
tell that she was struggling to hide her pain, and it hurt him too, knowing that it was his fault.  
"Mimi, I want to apologize," he began. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything earlier, I never meant to hurt you."  
"Don't worry about it, I'm fine," Mimi said, a little coldly. Matt sighed. "No you aren't," he said. Mimi didn't   
say anything.  
"There's something else I need to tell you," Matt continued. "When you asked that question before, I  
wanted to say it, but something was holding me back." There was a long silence on the other end of  
the line, then Mimi asked, in a voice barely above a whisper, "What were you going to say?"  
"I was going to say that-" Matt hesitated and glanced at Tai. Tai smirked at him, then shut his eyes and  
plugged his ears. Matt rolled his eyes and turned his attention to Mimi again. "I was going to say I feel  
the same way you do," he admitted. A small gasp came over the line. "Really?" Mimi breathed. "You  
mean..."   
"Yeah," Matt confirmed. "I love you too."  
"Oh Matt..." Mimi trailed off, unable to say anything. Then, a moment later, she spoke up. "But I don't  
understand. If you feel the same way, why didn't..."  
Matt cut her off. "I'm real sorry Mimi," he said. "I didn't say anything before 'cause I was a little scared.  
Scared of commitment, of being hurt."   
"Matt...I had no idea," Mimi said softly. "I'm sorry." Matt shook his head, forgetting that she couldn't see  
him. "Don't blame yourself, you had nothing to do with it really," he told her. "Can you meet me at the  
park?"  
"I'll be there in a few minutes," said Mimi, and they both hung up. Matt turned to Tai with a small smile,  
and Tai grinned back. "Way to go man!" he congratulated Matt. Matt nodded. "She's meeting us at the  
park soon," he said. Tai grabbed his wrist and began heading back to the park. "That doesn't give us  
much time," he replied.  
  
  
Mimi walked through the park, toward the place where she'd ran off, looking around for Matt. She hoped  
he wouldn't be too upset that she'd ran away, she should've realized that he might be afraid of being  
hurt. Of course he'd be a little scared, she told herself. His parents got divorced, and he knows that it  
hurt them both, of course he wouldn't want to do the same thing.  
Finally, Mimi saw him a few feet away, with Tai. He seemed so sad and guilty. "Matt," she said softly.  
He heard her. He turned around and ran toward her, as she did the same. The 2 met up in the middle  
somewhere and threw their arms around each other, holding the other tight.  
"Mimi, I'm so sorry," Matt told her guiltily. "I never wanted to hurt you this way." Mimi shook her head  
and looked up at him. "It wasn't your fault," she told him. "It was just a natural reaction. But Matt, I just  
want you to know that I won't ever hurt you, never, I love you..."  
Matt gave a little smile. "I love you too Mimi," he said softly.  
As they kissed, Tai stood apart from them and watched them with a small smile. The 2 of them were  
really happy, that was what he'd wanted. It was a perfect ending. Or so it may seem to everyone else,  
said a little voice in his head. Tai quickly shook the thought away. Forget about your feelings, he told  
himmself. She has Matt now. It was easier said than done.  
"Aww, isn't that the sweetest thing?" came a voice from behind them. Matt and Mimi parted, blushing, as  
the 3 of them turned to face the other Digidestined. Joe, Izzy, TK, Davis, and Cody were watching Matt  
and Mimi in amusement, Kari and Yolei were giggling, and Sora laughed softly as well, giving Mimi a  
girl-power sign. Mimi smiled and gave her a thumbs-up sign back.   
"You're right Joe, that is really sweet, I'm getting cavities," Kari giggled as the 2 of them blushed harder.  
Tai came over to the others. "Okay guys, that's enough."  
Davis shrugged. "Fine, we'll stop. Hey, whose up for pizza?" he asked. Everyone agreed, and they began  
heading out of the park. Mimi dropped behind next to Tai and grabbed his arm, looking up at him. "Hey  
Tai?" she said, in a hesitant voice. "Yeah, what is it Mims?" Tai asked, a little confused. Mimi let go of  
his arm and glanced away. "Tai...I know you liked me too, I'm sorry," she murmured. Tai's eyes widened.  
"How did you know?" he demanded. "Kari told me earlier, when I was giving her advice on her Davis  
and TK situation," Mimi explained. Tai frowned. "Can't she ever keep a secret? She is so dead when we  
get home," he muttered. Mimi giggled softly. "Don't blame her, I was the one who asked why you were  
acting so strange," she informed him, then looked back at him with sad eyes. "I'm so sorry Tai," she  
murmured. "Is this...is this going to ruin our friendship?"  
Tai looked back at her, then grinned. "Not in this lifetime," he told her. "You'll always be one of my spec-  
ial friends, no matter what."  
Mimi hugged him. "Thanks Tai," she said. "You're a really great guy." She kissed him quickly on the  
cheek, then ran up ahead to Matt. Tai looked after her, feeling a bittersweet sense of right. That was  
where she belonged, they were both totally crazy about each other. It might hurt for a while seeing them  
together, but it would hopefully pass soon, and maybe he would finally feel the same way about some-  
one else.  
Sora dropped back beside him. "Tai?" she asked softly. "Are you gonna be alright?"   
Tai stared at her. "You mean, you know too?" he said in alarm. Sora nodded. Tai looked upward.   
"Sheesh, did my sister call everyone in the phone book and tell them or something?" he muttered. Sora  
laughed. "You're forgetting that I'm not listed," she reminded him. Then she turned to look at Mimi. "It's  
been killing her too," she told him quietly. Tai turned back to her. "Huh?" he asked. "You mean, she knew  
before?"  
"Well, she had a suspicion, 'cause you were acting so wierd. I guess Izzy helped her to figure it out, and  
she was feeling terrible, she figured that it was a no-win situation, no matter what she did she was  
going to hurt one of her best friends. I told her that she had to decide what to do from the heart," Sora  
explained. Tai glanced at Mimi sadly. "I never wanted her to go through all that, I shouldn't have made  
it so obvious."  
"Tai, it's okay," Sora reassured him. "It's all cleared up now, right?" Tai nodded, feeling better. Sure, he  
could always love Mimi, but now she was happy, and in the end that's what really mattered.  
  
  
It's done! Finally! Well, actually I had fun writing this..*shrugs* Oh well. Triangles aren't exactly my   
specialty, but I figured I'd do something different for a change. So tell me how I did, kk? I might write  
a sequal, maybe. I'm also gonna write a Christmas fic, and if you want me to write a fic to dedicate to  
you, just tell me, okay? I'm okay with anything but Sorato..well, tell me if you want me to, k? And  
someone please answer the question up there too, thanx! ^_^ 


End file.
